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PGI — Rhône-Alpes
Its large round holes and monumental wheel are known the world over — but PGI (IGP) Emmental de Savoie, made from raw milk with a sweet, fruity flavour, has nothing in common with its industrial imitations.
Cooked pressed cheese from Rhône-Alpes, PGI (IGP) since 1996.
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Emmental originated in Switzerland, where it takes its name from the valley traversed by the river Emme, but its history has been shared between Switzerland and the Pays de Savoie since the Middle Ages: in both of these dairy-farming regions, farmers produced large cooked pressed cheeses built for keeping, storing summer milk to provide nourishment through the winter. In the 19th century, Savoyard producers joined together to pool their milk and entrusted its transformation to a specialist: this marked the birth of the fruitières, the oldest of which is located in Viry, in Haute-Savoie.
However, Emmental de Savoie developed an identity of its own: raw milk, local breeds (Abondance, Montbéliarde and Tarentaise making up at least 75% of the herd), a wheel of over 60 kg produced in the mountains, and long maturing in natural cellars. These elements set it distinctly apart from generic Emmental made in Brittany or imported from Germany — versions without terroir, without soul.
The Emmental de Savoie PGI (since 1996, IG/53/94) protects this authenticity: production in Savoie and Haute-Savoie, a milk collection area extended to Ain and Isère, raw milk from alpine cows, and a minimum of 75 days' maturing. A way of declaring: yes, it is an Emmental, but by no means an ordinary one — it is the Emmental of the French Alps, that of pure mountain milk and the unhurried passage of time.
Appearance
Convex cylindrical wheel 72 to 80 cm in diameter, 14 to 32 cm in height, minimum matured weight of 60 kg (around 70 to 75 kg in practice). Yellow-brown to yellow rind, free from blemishes or defects. Pale yellow to golden-yellow cooked pressed paste, dotted with clean, regular and well-distributed openings ("eyes") ranging from the size of a small cherry to that of a walnut
Aroma
Light to moderate aromatics, clean milky notes, subtly fruity (apple, hazelnut), cellar undertones, never sharp or ammoniacal
Taste
Clean and fruity, homogeneous paste that is firm yet supple, moderate to long persistence, developing greater complexity with maturing
Texture
Cooked pressed, dense yet melting, springy at room temperature, brittle to the bite in young wheels, creamier with age, never pasty
Young Emmental — Matured for 10–12 weeks, very supple paste, very mild milky flavour, well-formed small to medium holes.
Mature Emmental — Matured for 14–18 weeks, firmer paste, more complex fruity flavour, larger holes, characteristically brittle texture.
Farmhouse Emmental — Raw milk, on-farm production (rare), pronounced taste of terroir.
Dairy Emmental — Thermised/pasteurised milk, cooperative production (the majority), standardised, widely available.
Mandatory raw milk, dairy herd composed of at least 75% cows of the Abondance, Montbéliarde or Tarentaise breeds
Curd sliced into grains ranging in size from a grain of rice to a grain of maize
Curd-and-whey mixture heated and stirred between 51 and 55°C; delactosing (washing the curd) is prohibited
Filling the large cylindrical moulds, application of the PGI identification mark to each wheel
Minimum duration of 5 hours, until reaching a minimum acidity of 18°D measured two hours after moulding
Mandatory chilling from the day following moulding, followed by a brine bath (salting in the cheese vat is prohibited)
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Emmental de Savoie is enjoyed in thick slices (6–8 mm), at room temperature (16–18°C), or melted. On a cheeseboard: accompanied by wholemeal bread, walnuts, and grapes. In cooking: Savoyard fondues, gratins, and tartiflettes (more subtle than Tomme). Wine pairings: Roussette de Savoie (excellence!), Mondeuse blanche, Marsanne, or a dry natural white wine. Sweet pairing: fresh fruit (pear, grapes), or on its own for its light digestibility.
Since: 1996
Area covered: Savoie (73), Haute-Savoie (74) — milk collection area extended to Ain (01) and Isère (38)
Key requirements: Mandatory raw milk from Abondance/Montbéliarde/Tarentaise cows (min. 75%), minimum 75 days' maturing, cooked pressed paste, regular round holes, minimum weight 60 kg, natural propionic fermentation for holes
Co-operative
Dairy cooperative
Artisan cheesemaker
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The cooperative recounts that it was founded in 1971, with nineteen members and two employees, and established itself in Thônes in 1976. A first Tomme and Raclette workshop was set up there in 1978; refitted in 1983, it enabled the processing of four thousand litres of milk per day according to the dairy, and that same year a technician post was created to monitor farmhouse production. According to the website, the retail shop and visitor tour route date back to 1987.
A division of labour lies at the heart of its model: farmhouse cheeses are made on the farm by member producers, whilst the cooperative handles the affinage, providing customised quality monitoring for each. It states that it was created specifically to pool these resources—maturing, sales, quality control—in order to preserve traditional on-farm production.
Its cellars are unlike any other: in 2007, the cooperative acquired a four-hundred-metre former railway tunnel between Samoëns and Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, on a line closed to traffic in 1959. The tunnel had initially served as a mushroom farm, then as a curing house, before an affineur moved in and the cooperative began having its cheeses matured there on contract. It has since equipped the tunnel (electricity, shelving, loading bay) and presents it as one of the last natural cellars in the region.
Lastly, the cooperative runs a direct-sales shop at 40 Avenue d'Annecy in Thônes, open Monday to Saturday and on Sunday mornings.
| Address | 40 Av. d'Annecy Za, 74230 Thônes, France |
| 04 50 02 05 60 | |
| reblochon-thones.com | |
| Facebook page | |
| Visits | Yes (shop + factory tours by appointment) |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2007. |
